8 replies to this topic

[mrfixit1]

Hello all fellow fixers!
A speed queen commerial heavy duty washer... recently started splashing water over the top when it starts to empty. This is new behavior after many years of use. I took off the top of the tub, cleaned and reseated the gasket, and put some sealer in the spring slots. (I considered this a long shot but did it anyway, since it hasn't been leaking out of these slots for many years). These actions didn't help.
OBSERVATIONS:
1. The spinning cycle starts at the same time as the pump cycle, causing water to ride up the edges of the tub through centrifigal force, causing water to spill out of the spring slots (which are not water tight).
2..The drive pully/helix (bottom of drive shaft) pulls the brake open when the motor reverses direction. This disengages the brake.
3. After the tub empties, it speeds up, and the brake seems to become more engaged... the space between the brake pad and plates goes from having a space (perhaps .050" or 1mm)to not having a space.
Questions:
1. Should the pump remove water before the spinning starts to prevent this behavior?
2. Perhaps the brake/transmission should hold the tub still for a time?
3. Will replacing the brake pads help? (I saw a post that someone with a problem similar to this said this helped). I can't figure out how, unless it keeps the tub from turning while water is pumped out.

Thanks you in advance for all help...
Mr. Fixit1

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Missed that model number, budrow.

[mrfixit1]

Unfotunately, Oh Great Samuri, finding the model number seems beyond my puny skills. I have looked both inside and outside. I have found places with glue that perhaps had a plate or sticker, but no model number.
What I do know:
This is a Speed Queen commercial heavy duty washer, pre-1995.
The diagram in this web page seems to be very much like the mechanics I see in the machine.
http://www.appliancerepair.net/apnet/frameset?http://www.appliancerepair.net/apnet/washer/ch08.htm
section 8.7

Does this help, oh master?

http://www.appliance...washer/ch08.htm

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

From the problem description, it sounds like the brake has failed, possibly the transmission-- hard to be more 'pacific without a model number.

[RegUS_PatOff]

... finding the model number seems beyond my puny skills. I have looked both inside and outside.
... I have found places with glue that perhaps had a plate or sticker, but no model number.

Speed Queen Top-Loading Washer
Tag Location: On newer models the identification tag
may be on the top or side of the control console,
on the side of the cabinet, around the lid opening
or on the underside of the lid.
On older models the identification tag is often found in plain view
on the front edge of the cabinet toward the base.

[Budget Appliance Repair]

My bet would be on a worn out belt, these are designed to slip, (special cloth coating which is the clutch in this machine). With cloth covering worn off the rubber inside of the belt is gripping the pulley to hard and spinning it too fast before the water has had a chance to fully drain the water out, causing water to whirlpool up and out of tub.

If the belt is slipping correctly the tub will spin slow until the water is all drained out then start to pickup speed to wring water out of clothes.

If it were the brake that failed the water would be splashing over the top when agitating, the tub would start to spin with the agitator instead of staying locked in place to let the agitator swish the clothes around.

This is all on the premises that this is the Speed Queen with the pump attached to the bottom of the motor and has the idler pulley and spring system to put tension on the drive belt.

[mrfixit1]

Do you mean that the drive belt from the motor to the drum is supposed to slip to keep the drum spinning too quickly at first?
This might be it, since the belt was slipping and i tightened up the spring considerably.

PS. Thanks for the diagram... no tag in these places,although I see a glue mark.

Oh,
The pump is NOT attached to the motor... it is separate.



Note the last line on the diagram

[BigBird]

Hello,


Yes, the belt is meant to slip to reduce motor current draw and damage from overload. If you tightened the belt taught, you made a mistake.


Big Bird

[Budget Appliance Repair]

As BigBird says, "You made a mistake by tightening the belt".

Yours is a little older model than I was thinking of but uses the same principle.

Pump belt should be snug, about 1/4" deflection in center of belt when tightened correctly but this shouldn't have any effect on the spinning to fast and causing water to whirlpool up over the sides, (unless it's really loose and taking way to long to pump the water out but tub should still spin slow enough if it still has water in it).

If the inside of the belt looks like nice black rubber then the cloth coating has worn away and it would grip too tight and cause your problem. Why did you tighten the belt in the first place? What was the original problem that caused you to start to mess with things?